"Laslow, this is my sister, Princess Corrin."

The girl clinging to Prince Xander's cloak isn't the child Laslow has been expecting. She's young, but she's more woman than girl. Black curls frame her face, the chubbiness of childhood already giving way to a more sensuous curve around her cheekbones and lips. Her body is still in that awkward stage between puberty and adulthood, still weirdly lanky though her chest is beginning to fill in and her hips are becoming more pronounced. But that isn't what Laslow takes note of. It's her eyes; if he's had any doubt that he's looking at that man's daughter, those red, feral eyes have cleared them. She is undoubtedly the child they've come to protect.

Finally,he thinks. We've found her.

"Pleased to meet you, milady," he smiles at her, giving her his brightest, most inviting smile. Her eyes narrow and she takes a step back so that she's behind Xander.

"Brother, who is this... man?" she asks, pausing slightly as though she has a better word for him. He pretends not to hear it.

"This is Laslow, my new retainer."

She gives him a sharp look, inspecting him from head to foot. When she finally looks him in the eye, Laslow recognizes the expression. It's one he's grown used to women giving him over the years. Distrust, and dislike.

My, I didn't even have to try, he thinks blandly.

Still, it isn't until years later, until that moment in the woods when she fled from him and every moment she spends avoiding him afterward, that it truly strikes him just how much she can't stand him. How much she's always disliked him.

It hurts to have it made so clear to him.

He knows he's not particularly likeable, he's learned it the hard way over the years. People find him overbearing, and women especially think he's a flighty, untrustworthy pig.

That's the word they're always using, anyway.

But Laslow doesn't know how to be anything else; he likes people, he wants to get to know them better, and because he's inherently shy, he has no idea how to do so in a way that doesn't come off as insincere.

Before coming to Nohr, before that night in the woods, he hadn't particularly cared if everyone thought he was just a two-timing dandy. He'd lived too hard a life to worry about appearances, and as long as his friends understood him (somewhat), he couldn't care less what others said or thought. Besides, he'd always bounced back from rejection sooner or later.

That isn't true when it comes to Princess Corrin, and Laslow knows he has to stop this now; his mission is to protect her, not pine after her.

But if it was that easy, he would never have reached this point in the first place.

"Hello darling, have you seen Azura?"

Corrin almost knocked over her bottle of ink. She looked up from her maps to see Camilla standing over her, smiling serenely as always.

"Oh, hello Camilla," she said, avoiding her sister's eye. "N-no, I think she went with Kaze to the stables earlier. They've been working with Silas to tame the falicorns." She tried not to show how much it hurt to think about Azura, especially not when she was spending yet another day in Kaze's company.

"Hmm, is that so..." Camilla absentmindedly twirled a lock of her hair in her fingers. "What a shame, I was hoping to have a nice chat with her today... Oh well, mind if I join you, darling?"

Corrin shook her head. "Please, go ahead, Sister." Camilla pulled out a chair and joined her at the table. No one else was currently in the small castle library, so the sound of Corrin's quill scratching away echoed loudly throughout the room.

"Corrin, dear... is something on your mind of late?"

Corrin paused, her hand clenching the quill just a bit too tightly.

"Wh-what makes you think so?"

"Ever since you and the others returned from the highlands, you've been keeping to yourself and working from morning til night. It isn't like you to stay away from everyone for so long. Did something happen on your journey?"

I... I could tell her... Camilla would listen, I know she would. But... I don't want to think about it. I don't want to remember...!

Her heart ached painfully, but she forced herself to smile.

"I've just realized we've gotten awfully close to the Hoshidan border, Camilla. It's put the war into perspective for me, and I want to be... ready."

Something about her voice must have given her conflicted feelings away because Camilla reached to take her hand.

"Oh, darling... I'm sorry, I should have realized; of course you're having a difficult time, what with what happened in Cheve and the Hoshidans..."

Corrin's stomach writhed uncomfortably. Her thoughts in the last couple of weeks had been solely on Azura; she was suddenly and forcefully reminded that every step they took towards Hoshido was another step to their next encounter with one of her blood relatives.

The blood relatives I betrayed... and who I am no longer sure I can even justify my choice to. I... I have become a killer. A killer without justification, because I am powerless to change Nohr's cruel methods.

"I... I'm sorry, Camilla. I think I need to get something to drink," she muttered, her eyes stinging. Even now, even while her heart was being torn apart and her sister was willing to listen and comfort her, she just couldn't bring herself to cry in front of her siblings.

"Like this?"

"Hmm, not quite. You have to shift your weight a bit on your seat. Otherwise you might fall off when you swing your lance, or when it makes contact," Silas corrected, showing her how to turn her waist in the saddle.

"This is much harder than wielding a lance on foot," Azura sighed. The mare snorted as if to agree with her, and she patted the black mane gently.

"It'll be much harder than wielding a lance on a regular horse too," Silas frowned. "You'll be up in the air, probably fighting other pegasus knights. You'll probably get a better lesson from a wyvern rider, to be honest."

"Well I tried... I asked Camilla, but she says riding a horse and riding a wyvern are completely different, and she thinks I'd better learn the former if I'm going to be riding a falicorn."

"Well, I guess they are more similar- OW!" The mare had flicked him sharply in the face with her tail. Azura stifled a laugh.

"I think that's her telling you not to compare her to a horse," she smiled.

"Yeesh, sorry," Silas muttered. "Well, at least you seem to already know how to ride so this won't take too long."

"Riding is different from fighting though," she insisted.

"Of course, but it makes my job that much easier," he said cheerfully.

"How goes it, Silas? Milady?" They turned to see Kaze calling from the other side of the fence.

"Ah, he must be done feeding the others," Silas said, but Azura was already cantering toward him, her hand on the mare's reins.

"Kaze!" she called happily, leaping from the saddle and into his arms. He smiled and embraced her gently.

"I was only gone for about an hour, milady," he chuckled, his voice warm in her ear. "Did you miss me that strongly?"

"Mm," she said, burying her face in his shoulder, inhaling his calming scent. He often smelled of smoke, sweat, and something bitter that made her think of saké. It was a smell she rather liked, and it made her feel at home.

"Come now, milady, you mustn't leave your teacher waiting," he said, motioning back at Silas. "You'll have me to yourself once your lesson is over," he added in an undertone.

"Then I'll look forward to it," she laughed, stepping back. "Kawaru, come!" she called to her mare, and in one fluid motion she pulled herself back up into the saddle.

"Oh, very nice, Lady Azura!" Silas called as she rode back toward him. "You're looking more at home on hors- I mean, falicornback, every day!"

When Corrin wanted to be alone, she usually fled somewhere outside. People in Nohr tended to avoid being outdoors; the sky was always in a perpetual state between night and dusk, and it was usually cold out. When she lived in the Northern Fortress, it was less likely that she'd be found outside, so she had made it a habit to hide out on the grounds when she wanted to cry. Though the astral plane was nothing like the gloomy Nohrian clime and it was still early evening, she still found herself heading for the shelter of the castle gardens, determined not to break down until she was safely out of view.

There was a small grove of apple trees near the castle wall, and she made for it immediately. She had nearly reached it when she heard the sound of someone arguing and she instinctively hid behind a bush.

"So you're telling me you've just been moping around for the last few weeks?! Gods, what's the matter with you?!"

"I told you..."

"Yeah I know, it's your usual crap about love and some girl turning you down, but come on! You've always gotten over girls turning you down in a heartbeat! This isn't like you, get a grip, Laslow!"

Corrin almost groaned aloud. Not this fop again...

"It's not the same, Selena," he groaned. Perhaps it was just Corrin's imagination, but he sounded defeated and listless. "All those other times, I wasn't serious-"

"I'm going to kill you one of these days, you know," she spat. "You do realize I'm among those girls who've turned you down again and again over the years?!"

"Yeah, but you're special. You're my oldest friend."

"What, and that justifies you treating me like another conquest in your stupid playboy fantasies?"

"No, of course not, I just meant-"

Selena sighed. "I don't know why I put up with you, Laslow. None of the other girls from back home ever wanted to hang out with you, not even Morgan. But I guess being childhood friends has to count for something. Probably."

"Heh, hearing that name brings back memories," Laslow chuckled. "Ah, to be young and carefree again..."

"You're out of your mind. We've never been carefree."

"Too right you are, Selena. But at least back then, I didn't have to worry about a broken heart."

"Gods, you're insufferable. I can't believe you just compared being dumped to that... that hell! Hurry up and get over it already!" Corrin could hear her storming off, muttering under her breath the whole way.

"I would if I could," he sighed. "But it's not that simple... It just... isn't."

His voice sounded so hurt and lonely that Corrin found herself feeling sorry for him. Perhaps... perhaps I've been too hard on him...

She quietly moved away, so as not to disturb him. A broken heart, huh... maybe we have more in common than I thought.

Laslow was tired. He was tired of war and tired of being in love. It seemed he'd spent most of his life in one or both states, and he was exhausted.

I just want to go home... I want to see Mother and Father... and my friends... he thought as he sat alone for dinner. All around him, the mess hall was alive with conversation, but he could hardly hear any of it. His earlier talk with Selena had made him feel nostalgic, and he found himself drowning in memories from the past.

I wonder... how is Morgan doing? And Nah... Brady and Laurent... Robin, Chrom... and... Lucina...

The Ylissean princess had been his first love. Since they were kids, he'd always been able to pick her out in a crowd, always watched her. It wasn't her beauty that had called to him; she was so fierce and strong, so determined... and she had carried a lot of pain and suffering on her shoulders.

Still, she always worked so hard to protect us all... Always working herself to the bone... always jumping in front of danger. We were her precious allies. And she was my light.

But as a boy, he'd never had the courage to properly speak with her. It was only after his mother told him to try talking to girls that he gathered his courage, but by then it was too late; he'd become known as the army's philanderer, and Lucina was much too serious to consider him anything more than a friend. In time, he'd learned to deal with that rejection, just as he'd learned to deal with all his rejected advances. He'd even seen Lucina married, seen her leave on a journey with her husband once her mother and father returned home to raise their real daughter. He hadn't seen her since.

I really have a thing for princesses, he snorted. Still... I wonder if she's happy... if everyone back home is happy, now that the war's over...

I... I miss them. I'm tired of hurting, I just want to forget everything and go home.

"Excuse me..."

He was still lost in his thoughts when he looked up to see Princess Corrin standing over him with her plate in hand. He had to blink; he wasn't sure his lovesick mind hadn't conjured up her image out of thin air.

"Eh?"

"I asked if you mind my joining you?" she said. She looked as tired as Laslow felt; her eyes were rimmed with black circles and her skin was unusually pale.

"Of course not, please, go ahead!" he said hurriedly. He had no idea what had brought around the change in treatment, but he would take whatever he could.

She took the seat across from him and stared down at her plate awkwardly.

"Laslow... I wanted to apologize."

"Huh? For what, princess?"

"For... never giving you a chance. I'm supposed to be setting an example of camaraderie as commander, but I've always avoided you..."

Ack, it hurts to have her admit it, he winced.

"To be honest, your tendency for flirting drives me mad," she said, frowning at him. "You're always looking down at us women, treating us like we're interchangeable."

And the wounds keep coming.

"But even if I hate that part of you, I never bothered to get to know the rest of you. I shouldn't make a judgement without getting to know you first."

"I knew it. You hate me, huh," Laslow murmured, his heart sinking.

"What?"

"Nothing. But... what brought this on, milady?"

Her eyes softened. "I just thought I'd like to try being friends, that's all."

"Friends... with me?!"

She chuckled. One of her exceptionally sharp teeth caught on her lip, and he gulped. She could tear me to pieces if she really wanted to... but gods I'd be a fool not to see the charm in it.

"Are you that surprised?"

"Actually, yes. I don't have many friends, if I'm honest..."

She smiled slightly. "Well, as long as you stop trying to chat me up every time we meet, I'd be glad to be your friend, Laslow." He choked on his wine.

I'm definitely dreaming, he told himself, as he tried to clear his windpipe. I have to be.

But the heat on his face and her concerned voice were both as real as the fork in his hand.

She learned a lot about him that night.

For one, he liked to read, though it was the first time she'd heard of it. There was a small stack of books in his room, next to a collection of bottles and a box full of medical herbs. Hoshidan books, Nohrian books, books about combat, books about natural remedies, even the occasional novel or collection of literature. When she pointed them out, he shrugged and said he couldn't be serious all the time. That made her laugh.

For another, he was much gentler than she could have imagined. She'd been apprehensive, more than a little unnerved to be in his room, but he never initiated anything she didn't want. He waited for her to feel at ease, let her take his hands and let her press her lips to his neck. When he embraced her tightly, holding her close, he asked her, his voice low and deep, if she was sure she wanted this, if she didn't think she might want to wait. But she didn't.

She learned that kisses in daylight and kisses shared under the cover of night are entirely different experiences. She learned that he was ticklish behind the ear, and that his body was covered in old scars. She found that his hands were soft despite all the calluses, and that they were large enough to circle around her waist. She learned that he wanted to study her, to find the right places to kiss, the right places to run his fingers over her skin. She learned that making love to a man could be a painful and pleasurable experience in equal measure.

But more than anything, Azura learned that even in Nohr, there was nowhere she would rather be than held in Kaze's arms.

Kaze yawns, blinking sleepily at the woman fast asleep at his side. Her head is nestled in the crook of his arm, her beautiful long hair spread over the sheets like many small rivers on a map. He softly brushes it from her face, letting his thumb rest against her cheek for a moment too long. She makes a soft noise in her sleep and shifts slightly, her breast rising with each gentle breath. In the faint moonlight, she looks like a painting, her skin bright and dappled with shadow.

She had been the one who insisted on coming to him. He had been worried for her, afraid to touch her; it wasn't right for a ninja, a sworn retainer, to defile a princess.

"Defile? Never let me hear you say that again," she'd said, her eyes glinting with anger.

"But-"

"I am not a treasure to keep clean and pure," she'd insisted. "I am not an object to be saved for the right person to mark as their own. My title has nothing to do with this, Kaze. Princes are allowed to love whomever they like, even if they are not married. I'm as human as any prince, and if I want to be with someone... if I want to be with you, it won't be so that you can say you've claimed me."

Before tonight, he would have never dreamed she would ask for this. She was always so quiet, so serious... but that seriousness was in every gesture tonight, he'd felt it. Every touch, every kiss... they were full of her sincerity. This was no frivolous tryst.

I could never claim you, Lady Azura, he thinks, kissing her brow. You belong to no one but yourself... but I'm glad you chose me.

He knows he's placing her in danger... he knows it's improper to fall in love with his mistress, that rumors are bound to spread, if they haven't already. He knows he shouldn't have agreed to sleep with her, knows how much risk they're running.

But if he could have stopped that easily, they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

It's much too late now.

Notes:

Kawaru is written 河る, which isn't an actual name so much as a sort of pet name. 'Kawa' means river, and the 'ru' is just a sound Azura added at the end to make it sound nicer. However, there's a different kanji for kawaru, 変わる, which means 'to change.' Interpret this however you like.

It's been a while since I updated CTaF, but the feels were starting to overwhelm me. I should probably change the rating now though... Welp, anyway, enjoy~